The hearing of the case continued yesterday before the Famagusta District Court, in which a 19-year-old British woman is accused of public harm after a false accusation of being raped by 12 Israelis.
During yesterday's trial, Marios Matsakis, a medical examiner and a specialist histopathologist, testified as a defense witness.
In his main examination by Ritsa Pekri, defense counsel for the accused, Mr. Matsakis expressed the assessment that "the report of the medical examiner Sophocles Sophocleous has shortcomings and gaps" since as he explained he did not mention the details of the 19-year-old's appearance or gave any ie height and weight and that the clothes he was wearing were not removed.
He added that "the various injuries on the girl's body were not photographed correctly, as they had to be photographed at close range and that the photography had to be done with a special paper ruler in order to show how big the injuries were."
A bundle of 15 photographs taken by the 19-year-old and an anatomical profile used by medical examiners to record the injuries were submitted to the court as evidence, while Mr. Matsakis said that some injuries on the girl's body were seen in the photos but were not recorded in the forensic examination. exhibition.
He also explained that the injuries to the body were caused by the use of force or strong pressure or by blows, while an exfoliation of the skin that was in the accused was done with a sharp object or nails.
Mr. Matsakis also said that it is always very difficult to accurately assess the age of a bruise, ie whether it is old or recent and expressed the assessment that the majority of external injuries to the body of the accused fall into the category of recent injuries, however there are some old injuries that is beyond 24 hours.
In other questions of Ms. Pekri, the witness answered that he is not able to assess whether there were injuries on the girl's torso, why she was wearing a T-shirt and there were no photos and she wondered why no photos of this part of the body were taken. "I have no doubt that enough violence was inflicted on the girl's body in the last 48 hours to cause these injuries," he said.
We have continued the witness "a woman obviously suffering from a large number of external injuries, most of which are recent, some may have been done by applying pressure through the hands and we have fresh blood in the vagina which is the girl. "This for me as a medical examiner rings red bells in my mind and my position is that these elements are consistent with rape," he noted.
Regarding the report of the Institute of Genetics and Neurology which examined the data found in the apartment where, as the accused claimed, she was raped by the Israelis, Marios Matsakis said that the data refer to three condoms in which semen was found from 3 Israelis and the white sheet of the bed in which genetic material was found from both the 3 specific Israelis and a quarter. "My position is that from the DNA test there was genetic material of 4 people on the girl's body and clothes, condoms and the bed sheet," the witness concluded.
Examined by Adamos Demosthenous, a representative of the Prosecution Authority, Mr. Matsakis said that there were a large number of external injuries on the girl's body, some old, some recent, while there was blood in her vagina.
Asked whether his findings would be more complete if he studied the girl's testimony, if he saw the 19-year-old and if he did an autopsy on stage, Mr. Matsakis simply said that "the information given to me by her lawyers was satisfactory and I mentioned my opinion on the results of the forensic examination and the examination of the genetic material ".
He said he would help if he could look into the alleged perpetrators of the rape, but explained that "the question I was asked by the girl's lawyers was whether the findings of the forensic report and the examination of the genetic material consistent with rape ".
In a remark by Mr. Demosthenes that Sophocles Sophocles examined the girl naked with his eyes and did not find any finding from her claim that one of her rapists immobilized her by putting his knees on her shoulders, the witness said that "Mr. Sophocles examined the 19-year-old with his eyes and imprinted her in his memory. "If they took pictures of the girl's body then there would be evidence to be examined."
The representative of the Prosecution Authority told Mr. Matsakis that he was trying to mislead the Court with the witness replying that he had never tried to mislead any court in all the countries he was called to testify as a medical examiner and he would not do so here either.
To other questions of Mr. Demosthenes, the witness answered that he did not have any history of the girl, he did not ask her any questions regarding her health because he did not talk to her and noted that "the recent findings interest me as a medical examiner. I did not examine the girl, I was just called to see the findings of the examinations that took place that day and on these I based my conclusions ". The shortcomings in the forensic report of Sophocles Sophocles "are evident from the photographs taken. "I still did not do an autopsy at the scene of the incident and there was no need for that to happen," he said.
In the submission of the representative of the Prosecution Authority that Mr. Matsakis selectively characterized some of the bruises on the girl's body as old and some recent, in order to prove that violence was used against her and this was an impressive move, the witness rejected such a thing and said that "I did not make any impressive moves. I said that intense bruises are consistent with rape and that would ring very big bells in my mind. "
I submit to you that the history given to you by the girl's lawyers was not correct, said Mr. Demosthenous to the witness, with Mario Matsakis calling on him to give him the correct history in order to state his conclusions.
Adamos Demosthenous also stated that Sophocles Sophocles did his job very well and that his conclusion that there was not the slightest suspicion that rape was committed, was correct. The witness said that he considered Mr. Sophocles' conclusion "completely wrong".
In a remark by Mr. Demosthenes that "Mr. Matsakis did the most trivial job of all" because he did not examine or talk to the accused, the witness said that "I am satisfied with the photos, reports and information provided to me. were given by her lawyers. "The question posed to me by the defense was specific," he noted.
In another remark of Adamos Demosthenous that the witness did not testify objectively yesterday and that he did the lawyer of the accused, Mr. Matsakis noted that he did his job properly as a medical examiner, as he has been doing for so many years.
The President of the Court set next Thursday, December 12, as the date for the final speeches of the defense and the Prosecution Authority.